Interviewee: Scott J. Shackelford, Executive Director, and Chair, Ostrom Workshop, and Indiana University-Bloomington Cybersecurity Program, USA

PTC provides a coffee-break update to an emerging threat. Or is it an emerging opportunity?

In the Internet of Things era, we may be hitting an inflexion point in the importance of cybersecurity. Billions of connected devices in smart homes, smart offices, smart factories, smart cars, and smart planes potentially mean billions of points of vulnerability. The systemic complexity has taken a leap forward with 5G, AI, and machine learning all in the mix. With the stakes so high, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity professional vacancies suggest they are in much more demand than nurses, according to some reports.

In this podcast, Professor Scott J. Shackelford of Indiana University gives an overview of the problems, practices, and possibilities of what’s happening globally and discusses the outlook for the C-suite and the regulator alike, in an era where the risks have arguably become very real. International moves suggest policy makers and leaders are more concerned than ever about offensive and defensive action in cyberspace and the place of national sovereignty. But there seems little international consensus about what to do.

In the meantime, what are the threats? What happens about protection? Can consumers trust service providers? What reassurance do they need? How should businesses in the ICT space respond? Are cybersecurity experts about to be “the helping profession of the 21st century?” How do we ensure that they have the right skill sets moving forward?

The podcast covers:

• The increasing urgency of the cybersecurity threat.

• How far can consumers be aware? Should they be aware? How can they be aware?

• In an era of IoT, what are the prospective regulatory and legal approaches in cybersecurity?

• What advice should CEOs get? Could we see the end of cybersecurity as a cost center in business?

• How can we train and capacity build professionals for the future? What should they look like?

• What is the outlook for 2020?

Scott J. Shackelford is an associate professor of Business Law and Ethics, Cybersecurity Program Chair, and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance at Indiana University-Bloomington. He is the author of a series of books on cyberspace and its risks, including the upcoming The Internet of Things: What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford University Press 2020.

Interviewee: Dave Wright, President, CBRS Alliance, USA

What you will learn in this audiocast (18 min 40 sec):

In a time of scarce spectrum resource, should we completely rethink how we use spectrum? Should we be focussing on spectrum sharing between different users and even different services? Should we likewise press for local licensing of key spectrum bands?

The first stages of so-called democratization of spectrum usage may have already begun with the imminent deployment of CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) in the U.S. In this coffee break podcast from the PTC, we look at the prospects for CBRS and what many think is a radical approach in the spectrum community. CBRS usage has been allocated the 3.55GHz to 3.7GHz band by U.S. policymakers and is formulated as a three-tier system that categorizes users into different priorities. Proponents believe that many different types of users and applications will be able to take advantage of CBRS facilities, which use novel sharing and prioritization methodologies.

The CBRS Alliance, an industry association of many entities participating in the CBRS space, believes that LTE-based solutions in the 3.5GHz band, utilizing shared spectrum, can enable both in-building and outdoor coverage and capacity expansion at massive scale. Moreover, according to the Alliance, migration to 5G services in this band is practical.

Topics covered include:

• The place and organization of CBRS

• The role of the CBRS Alliance

• What is the rationale for flexible approaches to spectrum management?

• What happens to 5G in the CBRS band?

• Are use cases established in CBRS? Are entities really willing to run their own networks?

• Can CBRS practices be internationalized?

• The near term outlook for CBRS

Dave Wright, President, CBRS Alliance

Dave is Director, Regulatory Affairs & Network Standards at Ruckus Networks. In addition to his role with Ruckus, Dave participates in a number of SDOs and ITOs and is currently the President of the CBRS Alliance. Dave is a champion of open spectrum, including both unlicensed and dynamic sharing frameworks, while acknowledging the vital role that all spectrum management regimes play in our increasingly wireless world.

Dave began his odyssey in networking/telecom/mobile/wireless in the early ‘90s while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. He then transitioned to the commercial sector as a systems engineer. In the intervening years, he has spent much of his time in technical marketing, standards development, and policy advocacy. Dave is a Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) Emeritus (#2062) as well as a Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA).

Interviewee: Malcolm Johnson, Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

In this PTC coffee break guide, our podcast deals with upcoming changes in spectrum and satellite orbital management around the world dealt with on a global level by a treaty level co-ordination process.

The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) is the bedrock intergovernmental meeting of the wireless sector. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organizes the Conference which is typically convened on a four-yearly cycle.

With 5G, IoT, vehicle to vehicle communications and other new technologies now arriving, WRC-19, to be convened in Egypt this year, comes at a particular important point in wireless platform development and has immense significance for how the wireless economy will develop.

In this interview, Malcolm Johnson outlines the range, scope and importance of WRC-19 and gives an overview of what we might expect in terms of outcomes for WRC-19.

Topics covered include:

• The background to the World Radiocommunication Conference and the Radio Regulations

• Major and highlighted topics for the WRC-19 agenda

• Progress on the Digital Dividend

• Towards greater harmonization?

What you will learn in this audio cast (15 min 43 sec):

What regulatory toolkit keeps a highly dynamic market highly dynamic?

Hong Kong may well be the world’s most competitive marketplace. According to the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA), in 2018 there were four mobile network operators, 27 local fixed network operators, 241 external fixed network operators, and 249 Internet service providers in the territory. With one of the most advanced and sophisticated communications infrastructure worldwide, household broadband and mobile penetration are extremely high in this market

Among the most definable characteristics of regulation in this marketplace is that it is, by design, light touch. However, this catch-all term is probably not the complete explanation: Hong Kong’s regulatory toolkit is operationally both extensive and highly nuanced. It mainly adopts ex post-regulatory approach, consumer protection and a particularly extensive consultation process with both the industry and the general public. This consultation process is debatably one of the most intensive and interactive in the world. OFCA also collaborates with the industry to implement self-regulatory measures to better safeguard consumers’ interests.

The challenge is multifaceted and, arguably, needs to serve a variety of stakeholders. OFCA sees itself as a regulator, but also as a facilitator of industry progress in Hong Kong, as well as an agency of consumer protection.

This audiocast, recorded in Hong Kong, examines the nature of this regulatory activity and balance, discusses spectrum management in the 5G rollout, and subsidy programs for extension of fiber-based networks to villages in remote areas.

Topics covered include:

The pro-competition and light-handed regulatory approaches in Hong Kong

Toolkit available to the regulator

Interactive consultation process with both the industry and the general public

Self-regulatory schemes to safeguard consumer interests, e.g., the Customer Complaint Settlement Scheme

Spectrum allocation for 5G service rollout

Subsidy scheme for extension of fiber-based networks to villages in remote areas

The regulator as facilitator

Agnes Wong

Director General of Communications

Agnes Wong took up the post of Director-General of Communications for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in August 2017.

As the Director-General of Communications, Ms. Wong heads the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA), the executive arm of the Communications Authority (CA), and is an ex-officio member of the CA.

The CA is an independent statutory body and the regulator for both telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in Hong Kong.

Ms. Wong provides support to the CA in the exercise of the CA’s statutory functions under the Telecommunications Ordinance, Broadcasting Ordinance, Broadcasting (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance and Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (UEMO). These mainly cover licensing matters for both the telecommunications and the broadcasting sectors, management of radio spectrum, enforcement of the provisions safeguarding fair competition and UEMO, as well as giving advice to the government regarding telecommunications and broadcasting matters.

Ms. Wong is also appointed as the Director of Films, Newspapers and Articles Administration, and is responsible for enforcing the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (COIAO), along with overseeing the work pursuant to COIAO, while acting as the Film Censorship Authority, and the registrar of newspapers.

Before taking up her current post, Ms. Wong was the Deputy Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing)/Deputy Director of Housing (Strategy) from October 2012 to July 2017.

What you will learn in this audio cast (11 min 42 sec):

Blockchain is now a serious contender for sparking a digital transformation within the service provider sector worldwide.

Already proof of concept projects have demonstrated greater efficiencies may be possible, particular in the back office space. However, blockchain seems an obscure and even mysterious development: what does it actually accomplish?

In this podcast, PTC is providing a coffee break primer on what it is and where it’s going, with a compilation of multiple perspectives and insights from industry leaders.

We examine the present status of blockchain, its possible applications in the future, and how thought leaders are contemplating using it in the industry.

There are many questions still being answered. What advantages and benefits can a service provider give its customers with blockchain mediated transactions? Is a greater innovation mix now arriving for service providers? Should the industry collaborate to provide a common approach? Are there benefits in accomplishing this? Is blockchain the next big thing?

Interviewees:

Carl Grivner, CEO, Colt Technology Services

Eran Haggiag, Executive Chairman and CoFounder, Clear

Marc Halbfinger, CEO, PCCWGlobal

Interviewee: Jonathan Berney, COO, Chayora

Chayora is an early stage player with a single focus: to build a series of hyperscale, fully licensed data center campuses in key locations across China. Chayora will provide Chinese and international companies a full range of facilities up to international standards.

Topics covered in this podcast:

• The changing Chinese market in the light of China’s five year plan

• The structure of the Chinese data center industry

• Project management for data center construction in China

• Factors that affect the Chinese market

The first Chayora site is being developed at Tianjin to serve the greater Beijing and northern provinces; one is now under negotiation in Shanghai to serve the eastern provinces. Other key southern and central locations will follow.

What you will learn in this audiocast (11 min 51 sec):

· The European organization for regulation

· Near term work programs

· Regulation and the European data economy

· Net neutrality: what approach does Europe take vis-a-vis other parts of the world?

· Consumer contract overhaul

· Regulation in the 5G era

· Cooperation with Canada

· Upcoming national spectrum management issues

Johannes Gungl is CEO for Telecommunications and Postal Services of the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) and he is currently chairing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). Mr. Gungl has almost 20 years of experience in the Austrian and European telecommunications industry, working in the field of legal and regulatory affairs for several fixed-line and mobile operators. Before his appointment as CEO of RTR, Mr. Gungl served as General Counsel and Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs for Orange Austria. Mr. Gungl holds a law degree from the University Graz and a postgraduate degree for European Law from the University of Innsbruck.

Subsea cable systems need to navigate many interacting demands and complexities.

In coastal areas, they are subject to regulatory requirements of permitting and environmental perspectives, that weigh heavily in the case of proposed projects. Once deployed, subsea cables can face outage risks from commercial shipping and fishing activities.

Traditionally, in international waters, subsea cabling has enjoyed freedoms under Art 112 of the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)but will this be retained, and in what form? How should the subsea cable operate as the sea floor is industrialized?

Subsea Cables vs the Environment

On the high seas, defined as the ocean space between areas of national jurisdiction, new ideas and legislation may well further impact the subsea telecom industry. Environmental issues are building to protect the sea bed. Pressures to support Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) may increasingly rope off marine areas from any subsea telecom activity.

Subsea Cables v Commercial Interests

Deep sea mining both in its exploration and exploitation could pose a significant threat to the operation of existing cable systems and the routing of future ones. How should the subsea cable sector approach international negotiations to set future legislation?

In many parts of the world, the fishing industry and the subsea cable industry often enjoy an uneasy relationship: most cable breaks are as the result of fishing activity. But one case study, from Oregon, shows an unblemished record. It exemplifies perhaps how the cable and fishing communities should interact.

Subsea Cables v Security

Finally, as major and critical elements of intercontinental infrastructure, subsea cables are seeing more attention given to security issues. Whilst the threats may appear as yet ill defined, subsea cables have been weaponised at least once before. The First World War saw the opposing powers cut subsea cables for military benefit. Today, there are both virtual and physical security concerns in the subsea telecom world and fears have been voiced that submarines are being equipped with cutters to sever subsea cable systems. Cybersecurity issues are also evident.

In this podcast, from Submarine Networks World in Singapore, interviewees discuss key current issues and look variously at what is likely to emerge in the current environment.

Interviewees:

Graham Evans, Chair, International Cable Protection Committee

Denise Toombs, Partner, Environmental Resource Management (ERM)

Scott McMullen, Chair, Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee

The deployment, activation, and upgrade of broadband subsea cable systems is in full swing globally, and particularly in Asia Pacific and Oceania where transcontinental, regional, and island networks are all being delivered.

Why are so many new systems being deployed? Where are the customers for these new networks and what do they want from them? Can the industry continue to grow at such a rapid pace? What is the prospect of a destructive downturn?

In this PTC program, recorded at Submarine Networks World 2018 in Singapore, interviewees discuss what is going on and why, and give their outlook for the industry. Projects discussed include INDIGO, the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN), and SEAX 2.

The huge territory and widely dispersed populations of Brazil place many challenges on telecom deployment. In order to stimulate broadband rollout in the country, novel approaches to regulation have been tried. These include a careful definition of areas requiring direct subsidy and those that could potentially be profitably served by so called Small Providers, essentially very small service providers responsible for their own infrastructure often sited in local communities.

The results have so far been impressive with an estimated 10000 providers started in the country. The regulator ensures co operation between providers and major operators in order to secure reliable backhaul. Local communities in many cases feel they “own” their service provider.

Other regulatory innovations concern the development of a potentially symbiotic relationship between OTTs and telcos, particularly in terms of community service provision. OTTs have also begun joint ventures with service providers.